Post date: August 26, 2008
Divers care about their environment. According to a recent article by Laura Bly, scuba divers provide an incentive to keep the underwater environement in good shape. As diving has grown, many locations now receive a large part of their income from divers. Totalling $4.1 million to local coastal communities from US divers alone. This economic incentive encourages these locations to keep the oceans and reefs in as good as shape as possible. The article also mentions that 95% of divers are willing to pay fees to dive in healthy protected reefs and many would pay even more for the chance to dive with turtles or other animals. Way to go divers!
Scuba diving is not only a great sport, but is now also something that has the potential to help improve and maintain the condition of our oceans. When you visit diviing areas let them know what you think about the quality of the ocean and reefs. Keep this in mind when planning your next scuba destination.
You can find the full article on USA Today here.
Post date: August 25, 2008
So you got your scuba certification and are ready for a trip. Choosing a scuba Island destination and planning a vacation can be slightly difficult. In addition to the normal things you must think about when planning for an island vacation, you must now also consider your needs for scuba diving. However, There are a few things that you can do when planning a scuba diving vacation.
The first step is too choose where you want to go. There are a lot of places for diving, but maybe only a few that will meet your particular criteria. Things to consider would be the type of facilites you might want (are you okay without hot water?) and also how much you are looking to spend on your trip. Many islands have been setup as a scuba island, and focus on catering to scuba divers. If you plan a trip to a smaller island then realize that you may not have some of the facilites you would normally be accustomed too.
While most of the information can wideley be found on the internet, I also recommend that you contact you local scuba shop for any info they have. They may even have a trip setup where you want to go.
Though you are travelling to a destination to dive, you will have a lot of extra time, so choose a place that has other things you want to see. Depending on the person, that could mean a small scuba island to relax on or a destination with more night life and a lot of places to shop.
The last thing to consider is whether or not to take your gear. I recommend that you take at least your basic snorkelling gear and would also recommend your regulator and computer. As your scuba equipement is life support, this is even more important the more remote your destination is. As your equipment is quite expensive, it is also smart to purchase a travel insurance plan that covers your dive equipment. I would also recommend a good dive bag with good wheels to hold all of your stuff.
You can also find another great article titled “Planning your scuba diving vacation” here.